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Katana
The Katana is a close combat weapon in Left 4 Dead 2. It spawns in the following campaigns: *Dead Center *The Passing *Dark Carnival *Hard Rain *The Sacrifice (Left 4 Dead 2 only) *No Mercy (Left 4 Dead 2 only) *Dead Air (Left 4 Dead 2 only) The Katana is classified as a Slashing weapon, will sever limbs, and spew blood on your screen. Achievements Notes * The Katana is based from the katana, a sword worn and used by a Japanese elite warrior class known as the samurai, beginning in a division of Japanese history known as the Muromachi period. Traditional Katana are made of a special metal called tamahagane, and are generally extremely sharp and have a unique blade curvature which maximizes cutting power. * When picking up a Katana, all Survivors (except Rochelle) may say, "Grabbing a ninja sword." This is due to the popularity of the Japanese ninja in American media. However, a Katana is, in fact, a sword used by the Japanese samurai. Despite popular belief, the closest thing to a "ninja sword," otherwise known as a ninjatō, may never have existed and is purely theoretical. Though under the right circumstances (such as losing their weapon during combat), a ninja or shinobi may have used a Katana. A Katana has a long curved blade and is generally held with two hands, while the ninjatō is a short (generally straight) blade. * Ellis and Rochelle are the only Survivors who can correctly identify a Katana, though Ellis may still call it a "ninja sword" upon picking it up. The other two Survivors, Coach and Nick, will always identify it as a "ninja sword" upon sighting a Katana. * In a Blog Post, the Katana was voted the most favorite melee weapon on both Xbox 360 and PC. * The Katana is featured as the only weapon in the Mutation Four Swordsmen, although the Survivors can still use pistols when incapacitated, most likely due to gameplay reasons. * Despite being held by two hands, light from the flashlight still appears in front of the survivor that equips the Katana. This holds true for other two-handed melee weapons, such as the Axe. * When closely observed, the Katana's ''tsuba'', or hand guard, has an engraving of a scorpion (this has not yet been confirmed by Valve) in it. This is interesting as well as intriguing, as most tsubas are round and are meant to be used to prevent the hand from sliding onto the blade during thrusts as opposed to protecting from an opponent's blade. The diameter of the average katana tsuba is 7.5–8 centimeters (3.0–3.1 in). * In the history of videos and trailers, The Sacrifice trailer is the first to feature the Katana. Ironically, whilst being a weapon from Left 4 Dead 2, it is seen being in use by the original Survivors from the first Left 4 Dead, which does not feature weapons of any sort. ** As the trailer suggests, it could be a retcon, which is done by mixing elements from Left 4 Dead 2 into Left 4 Dead, such as Bill wielding an AK-47 in The Sacrifice comic. ** Zoey makes her move as the first Survivor to ever lay hands on a Katana, though she held it only for mere seconds before handing it to Louis, who then uses it to fight off Infected. However, the latter is credited to be the first to use the Katana against the Infected. * Similarly to most slashing weapons, if the user's reaction is fast enough along with facing the correct direction, the Katana can slice through a Smoker's tongue when snared. See the Smoker's tactics section for more details. * In addition to all current DLC's released by Valve for Left 4 Dead 2, the Katana can be found in many Custom Campaigns, most notably in the beta version of Cold Stream. ** The Katana also appears in Dead Air. However, since this campaign is still in beta stage, this could change before the official release. * Oddly enough, the Katana, like all melee weapons, does not appear on the original Survivors' backs when not equipped in the ported Left 4 Dead ''campaigns, making it appear as though they are brandishing it out of thin air. The only logical explanation possible is that the original Survivors' models do not yet support all the new ''Left 4 Dead 2 weapons and items, though the new guns (e.g the Combat Rifle and the M60) are nullifed by this fact. External Links * PAX 09: Highway Fire katana - One of the first videos featuring the Katana. Category:Weapons Category:Close Combat Weapons Category:Left 4 Dead 2